Here are my random thoughts as I get a grip on having cancer at 42 (now 49) years old. I would like to inspire hope in all of you and in myself as well as to provide a place for you to keep track of me through this ordeal.

March 18, 2012

The four horseman

The 'four horseman' as I've come to call them (fatigue, no appetite, nausea and diarrhea) have reared their ugly heads again over the past week. The appetite is most concerning because when you have no desire to eat, forcing yourself is not an option. The result is I have lost another 5 pounds and at times I am having a hard time finding anything I can eat. Bless my wife for her patience, this is very difficult and stressful on her.

I am going to keep on fighting, at least through my April appointment in Boston. After that we will have to see what options are available and if continuing the trial is still manageable.

There is however a fellow participant in the XL-184 trial that has decided to end his participation. Though his overall bone tumors were significantly less than mine, his scans never showed a real decrease or reaction to the medication. His last scans actually showed a slight increase in tumor size. The results of the scans, coupled with impact of the four horseman on him personally have forced him to seek other treatments.

Like I mentioned, I too might join him come April, we'll see how things go.

If XL-184 continue to shrink, say, another 50% percent to 97.5% of baseline, would you like to continue to accept the painful side effects? Fighting with this nasty tumor is really a heroic undertaking. Great job, David.